CVE-2025-53429
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedImproper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion') vulnerability in AncoraThemes Exit Game exit-game allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Exit Game: from n/a through <= 1.4.3.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceA Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability exists in AncoraThemes Exit Game plugin/theme (versions <= 1.4.3) where the application improperly validates user-supplied input used in PHP include/require statements, allowing attackers to include arbitrary local PHP files and potentially execute remote code.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Locate Exit Game plugin/theme and identify versionSearch the web server filesystem for directories named 'exit-game', 'exit_game', or similar case variations. Check for version.php, version.txt, or plugin/theme header comments that declare the version number.Affected if The installed version is 1.4.3 or lower, or no version can be determined but the product is identified as AncoraThemes Exit Game.
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Identify PHP files containing include/require statementsSearch all .php files within the Exit Game installation directory for patterns like 'include(', 'require(', 'include_once(', 'require_once(' using grep or similar tools.Affected if Any include/require statements accept variables or parameters without hardcoded paths.
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Check for user input flow to file inclusion functionsExamine PHP files that use include/require and trace whether $_GET, $_POST, $_REQUEST, or similar superglobal variables are passed directly to these functions.Affected if User-supplied input from GET/POST parameters is used directly in include/require statements without validation.
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Identify the vulnerable parameter endpointLocate the specific script that handles file inclusion requests. Look for parameters that accept file paths (commonly 'file', 'page', 'path', 'template', 'include', 'req', or similar).Affected if A URL parameter controls which file gets included and the application does not validate the path against a whitelist.
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Verify lack of path validationInspect the code around include/require statements to confirm there is no basename(), realpath(), or whitelist check that ensures the requested file is within an allowed directory.Affected if The application includes files based on user input without validating that the path is within allowed directories.
A user is affected if they have AncoraThemes Exit Game version 1.4.3 or lower installed AND the application accepts user-controlled input in file inclusion functionality without proper path validation.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataImplement strict input validation and whitelist-based filtering for all file inclusion paths; disable allow_url_include; ensure all include/require statements use hardcoded base paths and validate that requested files fall within allowed directories.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-53429 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-53429 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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